Giving In Doesn't Always End Well
by The Lady Osipria
Summary: Abby finally gives in and wants to be with Connor but she has to convince him she's a much better choice than Caroline. But things don't always go the way we want, do they? Set in season 2 before episode 4. No real plot spoilers, just a multi-chapter fic with some Connor/Abby love...eventually.
1. Chapter 1

New story 2

Hey guys! This will be a multi-chapter story that I hope you will like. If you read my other story 'Realisations' this could sort of be a sequel to that but only if you want to think of it like that because it is fine as a stand -alone piece. Basically Abby has decided she has had enough of Caroline's unconvincing relationship with Connor and decided she's going to stop pushing Connor away. She's come up with a plan to win Connor from Caroline. I do not own any of this so don't sue.

Abby had gotten home earlier in the afternoon after having lunch with Jenny and she walked in on Connor and Caroline kissing. It was the first time she had actually seen them kissing and it hurt. She had stealthily sneaked back downstairs and out onto the street. For the first time in god knows when Abby was jealous. She stayed out on the street until she felt like she could deal with it and she hesitantly walked back upstairs, relieved to find that they were sitting talking when she walked in. They looked up as she entered and she found she couldn't look Connor in the eye. It hurt too much. What hurt more was that his face lit up when she walked in.

"Abby! Hi! I didn't think you'd be back for a while so I invited Caroline over. Hope that's alright…" he said through his adorable smile. Abby cursed herself. She was not supposed to think of him as adorable…but he was.

She smiled convincingly, "Its fine Connor. Jenny and me went and had lunch but she had to rush off somewhere."

"Well do you wanna join us? We were just talking about how the old Star Wars was better than the new ones," Connor offered excitedly. Abby laughed and glanced at Caroline in disbelief. Before she had a chance to cover it, Abby saw Caroline roll her eyes. Abby glared at the offending girl, "No thanks, Con. I'm just gonna have a cup of tea and relax and read." He looked a little disappointed but nodded before turning back to Caroline, who hastily planted a smile on her face again. Abby narrowed her eyes, she didn't trust Caroline.

She made her tea and gave Rex some food. Abby whispered to the lizard conspiratorially, "feel free to bite her if you want Rex." He chirped happily and she stroked his head affectionately. She re-entered the room and sat on the sofa, grabbing the magazine from the coffee table. She tried to focus on the content in the trashy mag but her attention kept turning to the couple seated at the table. Abby had no idea what he was talking about as he spoke of Luke Skywalker vs Anakin Skywalker but she saw that even though the girl sitting with him pretended that she was interested and laughed when appropriate, the girl was bored. She didn't understand this relationship at all. If Caroline didn't really like Connor then she could just dump him and it would be over with but she still stays with him. Abby didn't think it was possible to like someone and be bored by them at the same time. Sure Abby wasn't interested in Sci-fi and Star Wars and stuff like that but she didn't mind listening to him talk about it because his enjoyment of it was enough to make her smile. She had begun to accept the fact that she liked Connor in a way that was not appropriate of the term friends but it didn't mean she liked it.

Abby watched as Caroline stifled a yawn and Abby decided she was not going to let this go. She was going to win Connor off of this terrible woman. All she had to do was show how much better a girlfriend she would be if he chose her. She already knew he was attracted to her because he had spent basically the whole of the last year chasing her and she still saw it sometimes when he looked at her. She deduced that he was trying to move on because he thought she wasn't interested and at first she wasn't. But now Abby was giving in. There was no way she was going to stop her feelings anymore. The first step was going to be very physical. She knew just how to make him squirm again when she was around. She was going to have to 'break' the thermostat again. Her plan would begin tomorrow.

A/N: Sorry that it's short but it needed to end there. You can think of it as a sort of prologue. Please review and let me know if you like it guys.


	2. Chapter 2

New story 2 chap 2

Hey there! New chapter! It actually gets a little racy! I hope you like it and tell me if you have any criticisms because I was a little unsure whether I liked this one so feedback would be greatly appreciated. I hope Abby and Connor don't seem too OOC because I hate reading fics myself when people go too OOC so let me know if you have any problems. Anyway here's the chapter. Enjoy!

The next day Abby woke up earlier than usual and turned the thermostat up a bit more than necessary. She also put on a tight blue tank top and some pretty skimpy panties. This was the start of her plan. She would pretend the thermostat was broken giving her an excuse to walk around practically naked. Hopefully through this he would start to reminisce about when he'd first moved in and through that he'd hopefully feel something for her again. Abby shook her head inwardly at herself. She was acting like a teenage girl with a crush. She shook the thoughts away not caring how ridiculous she was being and began her normal morning routine. Soon enough she was joined in the kitchen by a sleepy looking Connor who was only in his boxers. Abby stared openly in shock at his bare chest for a while before she realized he had spoken.

"What?" she asked snapping her eyes away from his body. He really had toned up from just being incredibly skinny, now she could see muscle had appeared, obviously from her influence with gym and also from all the running they did. He frowned and spoke again, "Why's it so hot? It hasn't been this hot for a while now, ever since Rex got used to the normal reptile temperatures." She bit her lip to hide her smile and she answered.

"Oh the thermostat's broken; for real this time. I've called the repair guy and he won't be able to come for a few days so we're gonna have to underwear it for a while I guess. It'll be like old times," she finished, smiling. He swallowed audibly as he finally glanced down and realized she was wearing basically nothing. He cleared his throat and walked to the fridge. Abby smirked already feeling the victory. "I'll have to make sure Caroline doesn't come over then. I don't think she'd understand the fact that we're hanging out in our underwear…" He said as he made himself a bowl of cereal. Abby smiled again; another positive. But she needed to play innocent.

"Yeah sorry about that Con, I hope it doesn't cause too much trouble," She said falsely apologetic. He looked at her from his spot now at the table and she made an effort to put a sorry face on or she hoped it looked sorry. He smiled at her reassuringly then, "No its alright, its not your fault is it?" She had to turn around then or she'd give herself away. She schooled her features and deliberately made her way past him unnecessarily close and felt his eyes on her the whole time. Her plan was working greatly. Now the physical aspect was under way she could start on some other things.

"Connor!" she called from the living room. "Yeah?" she heard him call back. She knew how to get him on her side. "I was thinking we could watch some Doctor Who if you want…" She heard a clattering noise and she looked behind her at him. He had just dropped his cup onto the table and was cleaning up the tea. She hid her laugh. He came over hesitantly studying her.

"Abby are you alright? I mean you usually hate Sci-fi," he said going to the DVD shelf and getting out his Doctor Who DVDs. She smiled innocently, "Yeah but I actually kind of like it now." It wasn't a lie; she did actually kind of like Doctor Who especially after that David Tennant started playing the Doctor. She decided to add this, "Plus the Doctor is hot!" She couldn't hold back the giggle at his facial expression as she said this. She had just made him jealous of a fictional character. She settled herself on the sofa and she patted the spot next to her. He sat down and pressed play on the remote.

They had been sitting watching the show for half an hour now and they had both laughed together at some of the comedic moments of the show. They had also began to comment and compare some of the time travel stuff on the show to their lives and for a while Abby forgot her plan, it was just Connor and her hanging out. Soon though she noticed how close they were sitting with satisfaction and she decided she wanted to make him squirm again. Connor's eyes were on her the entire time as she lay back on the sofa with her head against the arm rest the opposite side of the couch to him and then to finish off she stretched her legs out so that they were lying across his lap. He glanced at her then and she smiled innocently, "You don't mind do you? I was getting a little cramped." He didn't seem to be able to speak so he just nodded. The sofa was not very big so she was almost on top of him with her backside just missing him and her legs hung over the side of the sofa. She kept her face on the screen the entire time but she could see him out of the corner of her eye looking down at her every now and then. She had an idea then and she knew it would be risky but if she did it right it would seem innocent enough. She knew it would make him extremely uncomfortable but she also knew he would do it.

She deliberately began to move her right leg and she made a fake noise of discomfort. He glanced at her in concern, "You alright?" he asked. She moved her leg again for effect and made another noise before answering, "I think my leg has a cramp. Do you mind massaging it? It really hurts," she asked hoping she did not give herself away. He was oblivious of course because he still thought she was not interested in him so he immediately jumped to her aid innocently. "Okay where does it hurt? Here?" he questioned and he took her lower right leg in his hands kneading it gently. His hands on her felt good but this was way too comfortable, she wanted him to be uncomfortable in a good way. "No here," she instructed grabbing his hands and placing them on her upper thigh. She heard his intake of breath and she looked at his face. She could see the change in demeanor now and she felt the way his hands were trembling on her thigh. "You okay?" she asked innocently. He nodded stiffly before taking a deep breath. She had to bite her lip as he began to knead her thigh. It was too close, too close to THAT place. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. She wanted to make him want her but she didn't want him to find out the plan this soon and if she wasn't careful she was going to start mewling like a cat in heat. His hands felt TOO good on her. As he worked his hands she saw he was trying to focus on the show and not what he was doing to her. He was trying to distract himself and she smiled that was evidence enough that he wanted her. His hands hit a particularly high spot, clearly an accident but she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her mouth. She felt his hands still momentarily and she opened her eyes curiously to look at him. He was looking at her incredulously and she could see his eyes were dark with desire. He looked away from her then trying to keep himself in control and she decided to give him some mercy now.

She took his hands in hers and she smiled at him appreciatively, "Thanks, it feels much better now." She was happy to see a disappointed look cross his face before he covered it up with a smile, "It's alright." They finished watching the episodes on the DVD before Connor announced that he had received a text from Caroline asking him to meet her for coffee. Abby had hidden her unhappy expression and smiled, telling him to have fun and soon he was rushing out of the flat off into the arms of Cruella De'vil once more.

Abby sighed sitting back on the sofa feeling the loneliness set in. She had finally given in to what her heart wanted but she couldn't have it now. She needed to do something else, something braver. Abby then got an idea. If Connor could have a girlfriend why couldn't she get a boyfriend? She smiled but the smile dropped when she realised: "Where the hell am I gonna find a boyfriend?"

A/N: Hmmm who will Abby turn to be her new beau? I hope you like it and please review! Next one should be up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

New story 2 chapter 3

A/N: Hey! This chapter will incorporate the events of season 2 episode 4 because it is one of my favourite episodes and I hated how they made Caroline cut off the conversation at the end so in here is my take on that. Enjoy!

Abby scanned the ARC intensely. As every male passed Abby weighed the pros and cons. She wanted someone who wouldn't get too attached to her and someone who would make Connor extremely jealous. Spotting a semi-cute lab tech she walked up to him confidently. "Hi I'm Abby, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go out sometime," she offered with a flirty smile but the lab tech scoffed, shaking his and Abby's face lost its smile incredulously. "I would love but you seem a bit too low class for my tastes," and he swaggered away confidently with Abby watching after him in shock. Abby shook her head; that was the thing with some nerds, they had superiority complexes. She tried a few other techs but most of them just stammered before running away. She looked at Cutter only once, not even going to contemplate it. For one, that was just gross. Cutter was like a dad to her and two, it would hurt Connor deeply and Abby did not want to go THAT far. Abby nearly smacked herself in the face when she decided who to pick, it was so obvious! Stephen! She spotted him making his way across the ARC with Cutter and she waited until Cutter walked off and approached him. He glanced at her in interest and she put on her best flirty smile.

"Hi, um I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do something tonight if you're not busy." As Abby said this she saw Connor coming out of the lab and she knew she needed to do something. Thinking quickly she began to mindlessly stroke Stephen's arm, getting intimately close. "You know I think we have a lot in common and I know you had a girlfriend back then when I liked you but I wanted to try again and see if you're up for it…" Abby said seductively. She could see Connor's reflection in the metal wall in front of her and she almost felt bad for doing what she was doing as she saw a wounded, jealous look appear on Connor's face before he turned and went to the ADD with a slumped posture. At least she knew he cared but did she really want to be hurting him like this? Shaking herself out of it she barely heard Stephen agree to go out with her for a drink later. She smiled convincingly and walked off back to her work station.

As she sorted out her papers she began to feel as if someone was watching her. She looked around and saw Connor turn around hastily as she did.

"Connor?" She called and she watched as he turned back to look at her. "Yeah?" he said trying to sound innocent. She put her pen down and approached him slowly. "Is there something you want to say?" He feigned ignorance by frowning, "I dunno what you mean?" Abby crossed her arms giving him a look that said 'sure' but she shrugged and made her way back to her work.

"It's just I noticed you with Stephen before." She glanced back at him waiting for him to finish. This time he came over to her work station and stood in front of her. "Abby I know you liked him for a while last year and now he's single you're jumpin' at the chance again but I want you to be careful. Remember what happened? Stephen betrayed Cutter by cheating with Helen. I want you to remember that Abby because I don't want you to get hurt. Just don't trust him, okay," he said in a soft voice as he held her gaze steadily.

These were the reasons she loved him most. He always looked out for people regardless of the situation and circumstances. She half smiled at him taken aback by his orders and she hugged him tightly. He was surprised at first but relaxed happily into the hug. She spoke softly into his ear, "We haven't even had a date yet, Connor. Maybe it won't work out but maybe it will and I think its worth giving it a shot. Thanks for the advice anyway, you always give the best." She felt him smile against her neck as he answered, "Thanks, I'm just worried about you." They stood like that for longer than necessary and Abby mused briefly that had this been a few months ago she would have told him to get off by now but it felt good to be held by him and she didn't want it to end. Unfortunately the anomaly detector decided to go off at this moment and they reluctantly released each other. Connor cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Uh, we should probably get to work…" Abby nodded and followed him to the anomaly detector.

Later that day Abby and Connor trudged back into the flat broken and confused. Abby had been taken by a Merr creature from the future and Connor had thought she was dead. He hadn't given up on her though and he had saved her in the nick of time but he had unintentionally revealed one of his deepest secrets. He had told her he loved her in the heat of the moment and now they both didn't know what to say to each other.

They both stood for a few minutes in awkward contemplation. She had known Connor felt something for her but love? Love was something she didn't expect. He turned to her finally and smiled slightly, "Maybe you should go have a lie down eh?" Always looking out for her but this time she thought he was trying to avoid talking about what he said.

She smiled slightly and breathed out her answer, "Yeah." She couldn't leave it like this, she needed to ask him. "Connor?" she watched him incline his head and she took a breath before continuing. "Back there on the other side of the anomaly, you said something…" she trailed off hoping he would just own up to it but in perfect Connor fashion he evaded the question.

"Yeah," he said with a smile before continuing, "Said a lot of things didn't I? Mainly ahhh!" he finished with a slight laugh. She breathed a laugh too unable to help herself. "Maybe I didn't hear you right," she said lying through her teeth. She heard him perfectly but if he didn't want to own up then she wasn't going to pull teeth to get the truth. "I thought you said something about how you felt about me," she slowly breathed out hoping he would get some courage but it almost broke her heart as he answered. "Did I?" and he inclined his head as if trying to remember, but shaking it as if nothing came to mind. Once again he refused to tell her the truth. She wanted to tell him then but if he didn't want her to know his feelings then why should she tell him? She didn't understand. She was basically throwing herself at his mercy and HE was the one pushing HER away this time. Maybe this was Karma's intervention.

She didn't break her gaze from him and he stared straight back with a lost look on his face. "Abby I thought you had died, you know and then suddenly you were alive again. My mind is still reeling from it all and I don't really know what was going through my head at the time. I know I haven't been too subtle in the past about the way I feel about you but the point is Abby I've finally moved on. I spent a year trailing after you like a dog hoping you'd give me the time of day and finally I've moved on and I can't ruin that for myself. I finally told you how I felt today and as soon as we're safe you just shrug me off again. I heard what you said to Lucien. I know you meant it in the literal way but still whenever anyone implies we're dating you refuse it so adamantly like you'd rather date something on the bottom of your shoe, so please Abby can we just drop it? I have Caroline now and you and Stephen are going out tonight remember? I just can't do it anymore." As he finished her heart broke for him and because of him. He looked so upset and pleading and there was no way she could deny him anything he asked in that moment. It was her fault he was this broken because she didn't give him a chance last year, always going after Stephen with no second thought to the sweet nerd living in her flat. Choking back her tears, hoping she didn't show how upset she was she smiled weakly, "Okay Connor….It…It never happened." She almost sobbed out and she couldn't stop it anymore. She quickly fled to her room shutting the door. She heard his footsteps as she slid down the door to sit on the floor.

"Abby? Are you alright?"

She cleared her throat before she answered and as she did she made her way to the bathroom and turned the shower on, "I'm fine I just need a shower and some rest. Please just leave me alone Connor." Her last words broken by tears beginning to fall and she heard as he sighed on the other side of the door before he walked away. Now she freely cried.

Later she opened her door glancing around to see if he was about but she saw the flat was empty except for Rex so she figured he must be out with Caroline. Abby decided to get ready earlier to keep her mind off of things she didn't want to think about. She decided she deserved a treat tonight so she picked out one of her only dresses, a black off shoulder dress that came to just above her knees and her black wedges which were stylish and comfortable. After she had dressed she applied her make-up, deciding on a more natural look tonight with a little less eyeliner. She grabbed her purse and made her way to the kitchen with the intention of having a drink to kick some of her nerves away. Even though she wasn't interested in Stephen she hadn't been on a date in two years and it was like foreign territory for her. As she fixed her drink and stood against the kitchen counter she heard the door bang shut and she closed her eyes painfully. She didn't want to have to deal with him again yet, not so soon anyway. His implied rejection of her was still painful and the wound was still fresh. Thankfully she didn't have to face him alone and for once she was glad for Caroline's presence.

They were both laughing and chatting as they entered the flat and she watched as they noticed her finally. Connor's jaw dropped and Caroline wrinkled her nose at Connor's reaction clearly angry. "Wow Abby, you look great!" he complimented after picking his jaw up from the floor and Caroline looked like she wanted to hit something, namely Abby most likely. It seemed he wasn't even going to pretend anymore about her, which made it even harder. Abby poured what was left of her drink down the sink and grabbed her bag, making her way to the couple, "Yeah just finished getting ready for my date with Stephen." She made sure to emphasise Stephen's name then. "Anyway I'll probably be back late but if I'm not back by midnight don't wait up…" she trailed off letting the sexual implication of the statement set in. She saw the pained look cross his face but Abby didn't care. She wanted him to hurt like he had hurt her. She was used to being hurt by the people who she cared about and she had made sure never to let anyone close enough to hurt her like this and she had made an exception for him and this was where she was now. Hurt.

As she reached the stairs leading down and out of the flat she saw his reflection in the window and he was watching her wistfully. It hurt her to make the decision but he had had his chance to be with her and he didn't take it and rejected her so now she was going to throw herself into this relationship with Stephen and hope it hurt Connor like hell.

The next day Abby woke up feeling groggy. She realised she was lying on something warm. The memories of the night before came rushing back and she groaned audibly. She had the worst headache from all the alcohol she had and she was regretting the fact that she had slept with Stephen. He stirred then and he looked down at her with a smile, "Hi." She smiled at him awkwardly and returned the greeting. "So do I get to say I'm your boyfriend now or what?" he asked with a joke in his tone. She almost told him it was a mistake and that he should forget but she remembered Connor's words from the other night and so she replied by kissing him full on the mouth.

Meanwhile at the flat Connor was going mad from worry and jealousy. He had hoped last night that she would return home saying that Stephen was a waste of time but it was midday now and she wasn't home. It hurt to think of her with someone else and even though he had made her drop the subject the other day, he loved her completely. The problem was he was so confused. He wasn't as daft as he looked. He could see that Abby's attitude toward him had changed slightly and that she had started showing interest but he was torn by many things. The first one was Caroline. He didn't know whether he liked her sometimes or he just liked the fact that she liked him. The other was that Abby had hurt him a lot the last year by not giving him a chance and he was sick of being a push over for her. He needed to show that he could make his own decisions and be independent.

It was about one in the afternoon when she finally arrived home and he studied her. There were tell-tale signs of sex all over her. Her hair was mussed and her clothes dishevelled. There was also the fact that she had marks all over her neck. It made him feel sick but it also made him want to hit something, mainly Stephen's stupid macho face. He always got everything. Abby had wanted him from the moment she met him and he had never really shown any interest in her. Then there was him, Connor, who followed her around hoping she'd notice him.

"Hi," he greeted sourly and she frowned at his tone but replied back in kind. "So did you have a good night?" he asked with a smile that looked too strained to be polite. "Uh yeah I did and Stephen and I have decided we're going to date now, officially," she finished trying to sound proud and she watched as he narrowed his eyes slightly. She could see he was definitely upset. "He was that good was he?" he commented inappropriately and her eyes widened at his forwardness. He'd never spoken to her like this. "Connor! That is none of your business! And how dare you criticise me! I was basically throwing myself at you the other day and you just shrug me off to go make-out with Caroline! Get the hell over it Connor! You made your choice now live with it!" she yelled watching as he looked away angrily and she stormed to her room slamming the door.

A/N: EEP! Not looking good is it? Don't worry guys everything will turn out alright! Please review! There'll be either one or two chapters left of the story after this because I feel its not really going anywhere significant to warrant a long story arc. However in saying that I have PLENTY of other one-shots and stories waiting to be written so I will be writing more. This story was really an introduction for me to get into Primeval writing.


	4. Chapter 4

New story 2 chapter 4

This is the last chapter guys! I know it was short but I just don't think there's any more I can write for this story. Don't worry though I'm still going to upload more Primeval fics and if you're a hard-core Andrew fan like me, Keep checking back because I'm thinking of writing some for other things he's done like Alice, Vampire Nation and Ideal for example. I hope you like this it was hard to write. Abby explains why she's so cut off to Connor and they finally come to an understanding. Enjoy!

It was about a month later and Abby and Connor were still tense from Abby's actions the previous month. To the outside eye Abby had settled into a relationship with Stephen and Connor was still happy with Caroline but it was all a lie; Abby put up with Stephen simply because he made Connor angry. Everyone had been confused at first when Abby had announced that Stephen and her were dating because everyone assumed she would give in to Connor eventually. She knew Cutter was getting sick of their attitudes when they were at work. There were no more friendly conversations between them anymore and Cutter had made the final decision to put his foot down on Connor and Stephen working together. It was too dangerous, especially in the work they did. There was no time for distractions and they all saw how distracted Connor was when either Abby or Stephen was around. There had been an incident in the first few weeks after Abby had made her and Stephen's relationship public knowledge that almost got Connor fired. Stephen knew how Connor felt about her yet he kept dangling her in front of him deliberately. It got to the point where the two had gotten into a heated argument whilst out in the field, which Abby tried unsuccessfully to break up, and it had ended in Connor punching Stephen in the face and then an all-out brawl. Cutter had taken them both off of the job after that telling them to stay away until they had cooled off.

After this Cutter had corned her at her workstation, demanding to know what was going on. "Abby what in the hell are you doing?" he sounded extremely angry and she knew why. Cutter had soon begun to think of Connor like a son.

"I'm not doing anything! I had nothing to do with THAT!" she had shouted back trying to defend herself.

He had scoffed in an angry way, "Don't lie to me, Abigail! I can see what you're doing. You're using Stephen to make Connor jealous. You know who you remind me of now? You know who?" Her heart had begun to hurt painfully as he yelled. She thought of him as the father she never had and it was horrible hearing this from him even though he was right. "Don't. Please don't say it," she had whispered with tears in her eyes but he didn't let it go, "You remind me of Helen. Now you fix this, you're better than her Abby. You know you are. Maybe I should take you off the job until you clear this up…" With that he left her to her work while she cried.

He had followed through with his threat though and she was still suspended at the present time. She felt like a stay at home mother waiting with the kids (aka Rex and the lizards) for her husband to bring home the money, which was also true because without her job she was living off Connor's income at the moment. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had not bothered, it was no more than she deserved. She saw the way he looked at her though and she saw he felt guilty for getting her kicked off the job. Cutter had allowed Stephen and Connor to come back to work after a few days but Abby was still suspended and she knew Cutter wouldn't let her back until this was over with. She was stubborn though; she didn't want to have to give in. But Abby had soon come to realize that it was not that easy holding onto the lie.

She had a hard time keeping hold of Stephen because he wasn't in love with her, it was just lust. He had recently asked her to dress up for him in an outfit he had bought her. She wasn't really into that but she had taken it with the promise that she would wear it for him one day soon. Stephen was so stereotypical, it was a nurse's outfit and she pulled the zip up to wear it ended at her minimal cleavage. Looking in the mirror she could see she looked good but she rolled her eyes. She wished she'd never chosen Stephen as her decoy boyfriend. She heard a smash behind her and she spun around to see Connor in the doorway, having just dropped his mug on the ground and staring at her in shock. "Oh Connor!" she cried before grabbing her robe that was sitting on the bed, wrapping it around her tightly. He was still staring, seemingly unable to form a sentence and she scrambled to explain.

"Um it's a present for Stephen. I'm going over to his place soon and I thought I'd surprise him." She awkwardly picked at some lint on her robe and watched as the jealousy that had been replaced by shock momentarily falls back into place. What was she doing? This was the perfect opportunity to dangle herself in front of him; to get revenge. She threw the robe off then and she held her arms out to the sides giving him a full view of the outfit and her body, "So what do you think? Do you think he'll like it? I mean it's not usually my thing but I wanted to make the effort for him." Connor swallowed thickly before frowning at her words. "You shouldn't have to make an effort Abby," but he said no more on the subject and ran his eyes over her figure once more, "You look great and unless he's blind he'll love it!" With that he left the room with his shoulders slumped. She didn't want to go now; well she didn't want to go in the first place but still more so now. She followed him out of the room. She wanted to give him another chance. Her rage and scorn was slowly beginning to ebb away into loneliness and regret.

He was seated on the sofa playing one of his video games when she sat next to him suddenly. He glanced at her slightly trying to keep his attention on his game before he finally sighed, pausing his game. "What?" he simply said. She pursed her lips.

"Regardless of what's happened, I can trust you can't I?" He turned to her properly now and he was looking at her in confusion. "Of course you can Abby, what's wrong?"

"You were right Connor," She started calmly and he frowned not understanding so she continued, "About Stephen. I went over to his place one day and Helen was there." Connor's eyes widened in outrage but he stayed silent. It was no lie. Abby had decided to surprise him with a visit on a day when she felt specifically lonely and she was shocked to find Helen in a towel in his room. He had sworn to her that she had just dropped in to use the shower and Abby had smiled painfully before leaving.

"He swears nothing happened but it didn't take a genius to work it out." Connor looked angry. That was a common expression on his face nowadays but this time it wasn't directed at her. "Why the hell are you going over there then Abby? He's a cheating bastard! You deserve better and if you go back to him then you obviously have no respect for yourself!" he said and she heard the pleading tone in his words and she sighed. He always held her up on a pedestal. She could do no wrong in his eyes but she was not a good person. "I know," she said simply and she sighed. He pursed his lips, studying her expression before taking her hand in his. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. It's not your fault he's an idiot is it?" He said with a bitter laugh. She was getting emotional now and everything was just going to spill out.

"Isn't it?" she asked in a broken voice. He frowned at her answer, "What are you talking about Abby?" She looked down at her lap as she spoke, "Maybe it is my fault, I mean every other relationship I've had has ended this way. They never found what they wanted with me so they looked to someone else to get it. As I've always said to myself, I'm damaged goods." There was a tense silence for a while and she didn't want to have to look up to see his face. Soon though she felt his hand on her face making her look at him. She had tears in her eyes and he brushed one that escaped her eye. "It's not your fault, Abby. It's his fault. I'd never do that to you." she smiled sadly at his words and she once again replied, "I know." He understood what she meant by that and he gave her a sad look before he explained, "When I told you to drop the subject about what I said that day, I wasn't saying that I didn't really love you. I love you completely Abby, you have to know that but you really hurt me. You ignored me for a whole year and I didn't want to be hurt again. I'm sorry that I've been so horrible to you recently. I will make it up to you." She gave a frustrated sigh, pushing herself to her feet to pace in front of him and he watched her in shock.

"Stop it Connor! I'm not as good as you continually make me out to be. I've rejected you, manipulated you and hurt you and yet you keep holding me up above everyone else. Do you know why I started dating Stephen? It was all to make you jealous. Of course I didn't count on Stephen getting me drunk that night on our date. Coming back to the flat that day hurt like hell and I don't react well to uncomfortable situations. I always lash-out without any thought and it always comes back to bite me." Connor looked at her with a broken expression and he wiped a hand over his face to clear the tears away. "I can't do it anymore though. I can't do that to you anymore and I won't. I can't live with you hating me anymore," He looked at her sharply as she said this.

"Abby I don't hate you. I just want to know why, why you didn't just tell me to begin with that you felt like this." With a sob she took her place on the sofa again. "Because I didn't know how! I've never told anyone about my family and me but I think you have a right to know. It's the reason why I'm so cut off." She had his full attention now and he immediately took her hand trying to offer some comfort but she couldn't deal with that right now, not with the promise of his sure rejection once she told him. She pulled her hand back ignoring his hurt look and then crossed her arms.

"My family and I were always dysfunctional. We lived in a stereotypical council flat in London but everything was alright at first, you know. We weren't rich or anything but we were happy because we had each other. It wasn't until my dad left that things turned bad. He had just gotten fed up with mum complaining all the time about money and everything. I was five when he left and like all kids I blamed myself," she gave a bitter laugh before she continued; "Mum took it the worst of course. She started taking drugs and drinking, never in front of me at first. When I turned thirteen she got a new boyfriend and he was horrible. He encouraged her to take heroin and drink more. Soon my brother Jack was born and I became the unwanted child. My mother and her boyfriend loved Jack for a long time, forgetting about me practically all together. Soon though he became jealous of Jack, he was getting all of my mum's attention and he started to beat him. Mum tried to stop him but that just made it worse. I had to hide him in my room sometimes to be sure that he was safe."

Abby paused, taking a deep breath and he grabbed her hand again, this time keeping a death grip on it. She looked into his eyes and watched as he nodded for her to continue. With a sigh she kept going, "One night he came home drunk and Jack happened to be in the living room. I was sitting in my room on the phone to one of my friends, when I heard Jack crying out. He came running into my room and I decided I'd had enough; I was going to stand up to him. I told Jack to lock my door behind me as I went to face him. It didn't go as well as I hoped." He squeezed her hand as she stopped again and she used all of his strength in that moment to power through what she was about to tell him. She whispered out the worst finally, "He raped me." She tried to take her hand back to try and escape but he tightened his hold to almost painful strength and she let out a sob and she looked at him helplessly. "You don't have to tell me, Abby," he whispered blinking back tears as he stroked her hand comfortingly. She shook her head, "Yes I do," and she continued her terrible story. "I saw him watching me all the time when he first started seeing mum but I didn't think anything of it. After it happened I tried to tell mum but she didn't believe me, she just thought I wanted attention. He did it to me a few more times and on my sixteenth birthday I ran away. I took all the money I had saved and I found a small flat to live in. I applied for a job at the zoo as a cleaner and after a while the boss of the place got me to do a course for a few years to get qualified to work as a keeper. After that I was able to finally afford this place." As she spoke of her flat she smiled but she wasn't finished.

"I haven't let anyone close to me before now and when you came along you destroyed all the carefully constructed walls I had. You just wouldn't leave me alone. That's why I pushed you away. I was scared of you." Connor's face flashed with hurt and offense, "Abby, I'd never hurt you, especially like that. More to the point I'm harmless; I'd probably lose in a fight with Rex." She laughed, smiling at him and stroked his face affectionately. "I don't mean scared that you'd hurt me physically and for the record I agree, Rex would totally kick your butt." She laughed at his offended look.

"I was scared because you made me care. Every other relationship I'd had in the past had been so casual and they'd usually break it off soon enough because I never let them in. That's why I went for Stephen in the beginning. I'm always naturally attracted to the ones who I know will hurt me. I know I hurt you so much and I'm so sorry but I'm not scared anymore." She then did the thing she'd wanted to do for so long. She kissed him. He didn't respond at first but soon he relaxed into it. It seemed like the world stopped as they kissed for the first time. Every bit of fear flew away and every thought about Caroline or Stephen disappeared. This was what they needed and this as what was right. Soon they broke for air and she smiled feeling happy for the first time in a while. He smiled back at her and leaned in and kissed her again. They were interrupted by a noise at the stairs.

"Oh my god!" they both looked to see Caroline standing there with her mouth wide open in shock and anger. Abby and Connor looked at each other trying to think of something to say but Caroline decided she would hold the conversation. "I knew it! I knew you two were going at it behind my back! I didn't think you were into THAT kind of stuff Connor!" Caroline shouted gesturing to Abby and Abby blushed realising she was still in the nurse outfit. She crossed her arms over chest as she stood up, creating a semblance of modesty and faced Caroline, "I think you should leave. This is my home and I have every right to kick you out!" Caroline scoffed and glared at Abby.

"I think it's up to Connor to tell me to leave, don't you?" Abby looked ready to hit the other girl but Connor stood and made his way over to her, "She's right Abby." Abby looked at him in disbelief. Hadn't they worked everything out now? She looked at him helplessly but he winked at her subtly, which made her smile in relief. He approached Caroline, "Listen Caroline, It's not working out between us and I'm not stupid. I know you're not really interested in me. I don't know why you kept bothering but Abby's right, you need to leave." Caroline looked incredulously at Connor and then stormed from the flat. Abby let out a relieved breath and laughed before wrapping her arms around him from behind. He smiled and turned to face her. "Well that's one down. You need to tell Stephen." She nodded, smiling and then frowned, "I don't think he'll mind, he's got Helen after all…" Connor frowned, "You're actually upset about that, why? You don't like him too do you, Abby? 'Because I don't think I could deal with that." Abby shook her head and smiled, "No it's just brought up some unhappy memories, you know." Connor sighed and pulled her into his arms and spoke softly to her, "Abby I swear to you I'll never do that or anything to hurt you." She pulled back and whispered, "I know." She kissed him and finally Abby felt like her life would be better now. She was finally happy. Of course not even a second later their anomaly detectors went off and Abby and Connor's faces broke into amused grins. Taking Abby's hand in his, Connor spoke what they were both thinking, "Time to go to work!"

A/N: There we go! All done! I really enjoyed writing this and hopefully my other stories will turn out better but as a starter I'd say it went well. Thanks for all who read the story and if you have any ideas for a story involving Abby and Connor that you'd like me to write, PM me. I really enjoy writing different 'what if' scenarios so if you can think of one then let me know.


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